Navy's 'Chart the Course' training video puts focus on making the right choices

by: Gordon Jackson | .

The Brunswick News, Ga. | .

published: December 15, 2015

ST. MARYS, Ga. (Tribune News Service) — It may or may not be a coincidence that a new Navy ethics training video features a scenario of which officials at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay are all too well aware.

A scene in the video "Chart the Course" features an off-duty sailor who receives an unsolicited video of a female sailor showering.

While Navy officials say the scene from the video wasn’t in response to illegal videos of female officers showering aboard the USS Wyoming, it is eerily similar to the actual scandal that broke about a year ago.

The investigation and subsequent court martial hearings resulted in prison sentences and discharges for three sailors. Three other sailors aboard the Wyoming were court-martialed, fined and reduced in rank for their roles. One sailor was found not guilty of conspiring to share the videos.

The video shows the Navy’s ongoing effort to educate sailors through small-group discussions about how to deal with the potential ethical dilemmas they could encounter.

In the shower scenario, the sailor who received the video is confronted by his peers and reminded that the female sailor shown in the fictitious video “is one of us.”

"With videos and peer-led discussions in 'Chart the Course,' sailors are going to see difficult moments, tough decision points, and learn what to do,” said Rear Adm. Ann Burkhardt, director of the 21st Century Sailor Office, in a statement. "This training is an opportunity to focus on making the right choices, understanding the consequences, and how it impacts readiness. Leaders at all levels will discuss a range of behaviors and we hope they learn what it means to step up and step in.”

Other scenes include a sailor being confronted by his peers about how his binge drinking is affecting his performance and the crew’s safety. Sexual harassment scenes also are depicted.

"We're really appealing to and raising the level of professionalism in the force,” said the deputy chief of Naval Operations, Vice Adm. Bill Moran. "It will suppress some of the bad behavior that's occurring and give, I hope, some young women some confidence that we're looking out for the culture and environment that we're asking them to operate in."